Saying Yes to the Boss by Jackie Braun

Author:Jackie Braun
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

REE intended to go directly home, where she planned to put on some comfortable clothes, crank up her Three Tenors CD on the stereo and spend the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen making rigatoni from scratch using Nonna’s recipe. Maybe she’d stop at the little wine shop near the dock on her way home and pick up a bottle of Chianti so that she could alternately wallow in self-pity and celebrate her life’s new direction.

In the parking lot, however, she discovered to her embarrassment that her car wouldn’t start. She listened to the finicky engine whine and whir during half a dozen attempts before finally giving up. She was going to have to call a tow truck and she hoped to God that whatever was wrong with the Beetle could be fixed at an island repair shop in relatively short order.

As she withdrew the key from the ignition, someone tapped on the window. She turned to find Dane hunched over.

“Car trouble again?” he asked once she’d manually cranked down the glass.

“Yes. Oliver’s being temperamental.”

“Oliver.”

Dane rested his elbows on the open window frame and shook his head slowly. Amusement brimmed in his eyes.

The rain had subsided into a fine mist, leaving droplets of water sprinkled in his dark hair. Without thinking, Ree reached up and ran the tips of her fingers through the short layers at his temple. Afterward, they simply stared at one another.

“You’re getting wet,” Ree said at last, hoping her words served as enough of an explanation for the intimate way in which she had just touched him.

Dane didn’t say anything, but after a long moment, he reached through the window. She felt a featherlight touch on her cheek, as if his fingertips had just barely grazed its slope on the way to tuck a handful of hair behind her ear.

Then he straightened and the connection she’d felt—the connection that had gone well beyond the mere physical—was broken once again.

“You’re dry…but stranded.” He smiled, his tone matter-of-fact, and Ree wondered if she had merely imagined the interest that had sparked in his eyes.

“You really need to trade in this heap. I think it’s safe to say you can afford more reliable, not to mention stylish, transportation now.” He thumped the roof of her car with one hand.

“Trade in Oliver? Are you crazy? A new…engine and he’ll be running like a dream.”

Dane rolled his eyes. Reaching inside his suit coat, he retrieved the cell phone clipped to his belt. “Your best bet for fast turnaround service is The Island Garage. Dial information for the telephone number and have them connect you.”

As Ree spoke to the mechanic, Dane let himself in the passenger side, apparently deciding not to stand out in the rain any longer. Ree had brought a photo album she’d found while cleaning out the attic earlier in the week. The cover was faded and the binding frayed, but it was stuffed with priceless pictures of the house.

She had intended to leave it with the Conlans, but then she’d forgotten it in the car before their meeting.

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